James Clinton, Revolutionary War Hero
Previously at FrumForum, I wrote about two early American political leaders: DeWitt Clinton, New York governor and mayor and key figure in the nation-building achievement of getting the Erie Canal built; and George Clinton, governor turned vice president, whose efforts to limit federal power culminated in an independent (and erroneous, in my view) decision to terminate America’s first central bank.
Now, I take quill to parchment again, this time regarding James Clinton (1736-1812), a Revolutionary War general who was DeWitt’s father and George’s brother.
Though less remembered today than the other two, James struck important blows for American independence. For me, these figures are of interest for family history as well as national history. James and DeWitt are direct ancestors of my wife, and our son is named DeWitt after his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Veterans Day, which honors veterans living and dead, would be a suitable time to remember James Clinton. Although he had some involvement in politics, he was primarily a military man. One historian described him a few decades after his death as “a plain blunt soldier, born upon the frontiers, and who spent no inconsiderable portion of a long life amid the toils and perils of border wars.”
James was born in Little Britain, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. This was then a frontier area, and the family homestead was fortified against Indian attacks. James took an early liking to the profession of arms, and by 1757 was an ensign in the New York militia.
In the French and Indian War, James, along with his father Col. Charles Clinton and his brother George, lieutenant, participated in Gen. John Bradstreet’s successful 1758 march into Canada to take Fort Frontenac (now in Kingston, Ontario). James and George were instrumental in capturing a French ship. In 1759, James was promoted to captain, and he was commanding 200 men as the war ended in 1763.
James took up farming in the Hudson Valley, and married Mary DeWitt, with whom he would have four sons. He stayed active in the militia, rising in peacetime to lieutenant colonel. As tensions rose between Britain and its American colonies, the family took up the patriotic cause. Charles Clinton passed away in 1773 after a deathbed exhortation to his sons to defend American liberties.
In 1775, as war commenced, James Clinton became a colonel in the third regiment of New York troops, part of the incipient Continental Army. Serving under Gen. Richard Montgomery, he participated in an unsuccessful invasion of Canada aimed at gaining Quebec province for the revolutionary side. After taking Montreal, the American forces were beaten at Quebec City and retreated from the province.
James was promoted to brigadier general in 1776. George also held a generalship, and in 1777 became New York’s first post-colonial governor. British forces now were converging on upstate New York, the conquest of which would cut off New England from other rebel territory. The brothers took up a defense in the Hudson Highlands at the closely clustered Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery. Nearby, an iron chain was stretched across the Hudson to impede British warships.
The British attacked on the morning of October 6, 1777, under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, who is thought to be a distant relative. The Americans were badly outnumbered, with some 600 troops manning the forts against an invading force that may have numbered 3,000. There was hand-to-hand fighting as the Americans repelled waves of attacks. By nightfall the forts had been overrun.
James and George both escaped with their retreating troops. James had taken a bayonet wound high on his leg, and was fortunate that the blade had been deflected somewhat by a book in his pocket.
The British victory was a limited one. Further upstate, British Gen. John Burgoyne’s army had become encircled by American troops at Saratoga. Sir Henry Clinton’s forces were unable to move northward from the Hudson Highlands fast enough to come to Burgoyne’s aid before he had been defeated.
For most of 1778, James Clinton was at West Point, where the Continental Army was constructing fortifications. James was involved in the choice of that site over others, and in placing another iron chain, this one remembered as The Great Chain, across the Hudson to block enemy ships.
The war soon took on a new front to the west. Loyalist forces were joining forces with members of the Iroquois Nations that had opted to join the British side. Following two massacres at settlements, Gen. George Washington decided to send an attacking force into Indian country. This would be led, in coordinated invasions, by Major Gen. John Sullivan and Brigadier Gen. James Clinton.
In early summer 1779, Clinton led a force of some 2,000 to Otsego Lake in upstate New York, source of the Susquehanna River. In early August, after damming the lake they broke the dam so the expedition could move partly by boat on the flooded river. (The event is now commemorated by a Memorial Day canoe race.)
Clinton’s and Sullivan’s forces converged near the Pennsylvania border and on August 29 fought the Battle of Newtown. This was a decisive victory for the Americans. Some 3,200 Continental Army soldiers overwhelmed a force of about 1,000 Iroquois, 250 loyalist militia and 15 British regulars.
As the enemy fled, the Americans cut a swath of destruction across Iroquois country, burning longhouses and crops. This scorched-earth campaign, specified by Gen. Washington’s orders, greatly reduced the threat on the western frontier for the remainder of the war.
In 1780, Clinton was back along the Hudson River, first at West Point, then in Albany. He was appointed to command the Continental Army’s northern forces after the discovery of Benedict Arnold’s treason.
In 1781, Clinton was sent to join Gen. Washington, and was present at the siege of British Gen. Charles Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown, Va. In John Trumbull’s painting “Surrender of Lord Cornwallis,” located in the Capitol rotunda, Clinton is at the center of the row of officers on horseback behind Washington.
The following year, the Continental Congress promoted a number of Army officers, and James was passed over. This likely had to do with politics, as George being governor of New York was in the thick of tensions among the states. Irritated, James asked Gen. Washington to be allowed to step back from active duty, which was granted as the war was winding down anyway.
James would get his promotion to major general by war’s end in 1783, and he was present with Washington when the British evacuated New York City as well as at Washington’s farewell dinner (hosted by Gov. Clinton).
After the war, James served in the New York convention that ratified the Constitution. He voted nay as did his brother, both thinking the document gave too much power to the federal government. James also served on a commission that defined the border between New York and Pennsylvania; this included some respectful interactions with the Iroquois chiefs who had been his wartime enemies.
James died at home in upstate New York on Sept. 22, 1812. His brother George had died earlier that year while serving as vice president. His son DeWitt was running for president against the incumbent, James Madison, and would have won if Pennsylvania had gone the other way.
Author’s note: I thank David Clinton Carter, uncle by marriage and family history maven, for extensive materials and discussions about James Clinton and other family ancestors.
